Defending the Front Lines
by America's Got Fandom
Summary: Right before Carlye leaves, Margaret has a few choice words for her about how she treated Hawkeye. Oneshot HM


**A/N: I do not own M*A*S*H. My first HM story that I'm publishing, hope you like it!**

"Lieutenant?" Margaret asked from her clip board of schedules and charts. Her mind quickly left her work to more important matters, mainly the nurse in front of her. If glances could kill Carlye would be dead. Like, dead-before-she-hit-the-floor dead. "Can I please speak to you alone before you leave?"

"Yes Major," she replied. Uneasy glances were exchanged between all of the nurses in the tent at their head nurse's tone and lack of eye contact. Carlye smoothed out her dress uniform and followed Margaret out and shut the door behind them. Murmurs and mumbles were could "Is something wrong?"

Margaret finally looked up from her clip board. "Yes, there _is_ something wrong. Before I begin, I want you to know that I know everything about you and Captain Pierce." There was a bit of pride in her voice, but it took a lot to not reveal how she found out.

Carlye's eyes widened, but she gained control and straightened her spine and replied in calm tone, "I don't believe that's any of your business Major."

Margaret smiled in way that showed the young nurse she was anything but amused. "I don't care."

Carlye raised her eyebrows at Margaret. "Major, what does-"

"How dare you." Margaret's eyes narrowed as her fists clenched. She'd tried to hold these words in, but after seeing the _way_ that Carlye did it, she just wasn't going to stand for this. Her head began to feel almost hot with rage as she yelled, "Hawkeye, while there are many qualities I'd change in him, is a brilliant surgeon, a good person and a wonderful shoulder to cry on. What gives you the right to walk in here, let him in for a week and give him security only to break his heart! He's the best surgeon I've ever worked with, and you start demeaning his love for medicine!"

Margaret's face was red and flushed to capacity, and a very stiff Carlye could only answer, "I never demeaned him, I only-"

"What would you call a woman who shames her partner for loving and excelling at their career?" Margaret asked.

"I did not shame him!" Carlye exclaimed. "He put his career before me."

Margaret scoffed and dug her heels into the ground, almost preparing in a battle stance. "You know what you are? An egotistical, selfish, attention-hungry jerk who didn't deserve Hawkeye at any point!"

A jeep pulled up behind the two sparing women, and Margaret straightened up and added with an almost smug grin, "I put in a special arrangement to have you in Tokyo, and it's in your file to never be stationed at the 4077th again. Don't worry, I noted it was for my personal reasons, and it's true; I never want to see you again."

Carlye glared at her ex-head nurse. "The feeling mutual Major." She started off, but something stopped her in her tracks. A sly smile slipped onto her face as she turned back to Margaret. "Just one question Major. Is there any reason that you care so much?"

No problem. Margaret considered this a very easy question. "Yes, he's a close friend and I hate seeing him hurt."

Carlye gained some traction in her confidence and case. "So, you describe all your _close friends_ , as a good person and having a wonderful shoulder? Major, and I do mean to pry when I ask his, are you in love with Hawkeye?"

Margaret's eyes grew wider than they ever had. She didn't take the much needed second to regain her composure as she stuttered out, "I-I don't know what you're talking about…Hawkeye is just a friend…"

Carlye nodded. "Well Major, just a word of advice." She made direct and glaring eye contact with Margaret and added, "He would never, ever be interested in you." With that, she turned around and hopped in the jeep. It sped off into the Korean night sky while Margaret was left to ponder on the conversation that she'd just been a part of.

Margaret shook off Carlye's parting words and smiled to herself. Done and done with that horrid, self-centered, greedy-

"Margaret?"

She spun around at the sound of a voice, coming from none other than Hawkeye Pierce. His eyes were thoughtful and questioning, and his hands were stuffed in his pockets as he peered down at her. "Yes, Captain?" She unconsciously fondled the inner lining of her jacket and shifted her weight to her side.

He took a few paces closer to her so they weren't even twelve inches apart. "Margaret, I…heard all that, and I don't know what to say."

Margaret tried to take a few steps back, but her hands had a mind of their own as they melted into Hawkeye's. "I don't know what you're talking about, Pierce," she lied. She looked down to the Korean dirt instead of him and repeated, "I don't have the slightest idea."

Something in Margaret forced her to look up at him as he replied, "Don't give me that, I know you know. I heard you defending me, and I don't know how to feel about it."

Margaret tore her hands from him and exclaimed, "Don't know how to feel about it? Pierce, I was doing you a favor!"

He broke into a smile. "Gotcha."

Her cheeks betrayed her, so she turned to the right enough that she believed he wouldn't see. "Fine, so I told her off. What's wrong with that?"

"Why?"

She looked up at him in confusion but curiosity. "What do you mean 'why', Pierce? I didn't like how she treated you and it bugged me until I decided to tell her off. You're one of our best surgeons and I didn't think it was right of her to treat you that way."

He followed her steps until he wasn't even six inches away from her. "You never do things like that." He paused with sincere eyes, an expression that could only be described as caring and soft, and his head slightly tilted towards her. "Thank you, Margaret."

Margaret's awareness of his closeness shot up…they were practically touching. Silence wrapped around them as Hawkeye stroked her cheek with a light touch. She ignored how fast her heart was racing and he heaviness of her breath. She wasn't doing this. She wasn't staring up dreamily into his eyes like a lovesick high schooler. She wasn't wishing she was dating him instead of Frank. But it was _much_ harder to stop herself form leaning forward and kissing him.

"I…should get to bed. We're supposed to get wounded tomorrow." Margaret's heart took the controls away from her head and refused to let her move away from the chief surgeon. She'd never realized how tall he really was…

He finally retracted his hand from her cheek, stuffing his it back in his pocket. "You're right. We'll need at least an hour of sleep for seventeen hours of operating."

She couldn't stop the grin that snaked onto her face without her permission. "Goodnight, Captain."

He nodded in reply as she turned to leave, but something stopped her. What, she wasn't sure. Midnight bravery? Or midnight insanity? "Ah, Pierce?"

He spun around to face her with a look she couldn't read. Expectation? Amusement? Interest? "Yeah?"

"Ah, well, since Frank, that is Major Burns, is on R&R, I need someone to take me to dinner tomorrow, do you know if BJ's available?" she added the last part on a whim, but her smile plainly told him what she was asking.

He played along with a smirk. "I think Beej has post-op duty, but I'm free."

"Then you'll have to do," she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Why was she so giddy at the idea of having dinner with Hawkeye? Well, it didn't matter. It was as friends. Just friends. "I'll see you for dinner then."

"Maybe even dessert?" He added. She rolled her eyes at the comment, but still shot him a smile. "Good night, Margaret. And thanks."

"No problem."

THE END


End file.
